John Calipari talks transfer portal, NIL in appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’

Arkansas head coach John Calipari made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday afternoon and covered a wide array of topics in the 10-minute segment. Some of the discussion revolved around Calipari-coached players and the upcoming NBA Draft, but the Hall of Fame coach was also asked to give his thoughts on the current college landscape.

Calipari has never been shy when it comes to sharing his opinions on recent changes to college athletics, especially when it comes to the transfer portal or NIL. McAfee had three-time champion and 20-year NBA veteran forward Udonis Haslem on the show, and Haslem asked Calipari about the money aspect with recruiting and building rosters today. In his response, Calipari offered a familiar “humble brag” about his approach.

“There will be coaches that would pay more than I would be willing to pay,” Calipari said. “But I’m telling kids, ‘You don’t wanna trip over nickels trying to get to 200 million. And you pick the right school. Don’t let it overwhelm you with the money. Can I throw a humble brag out there? My guys have made $6 billion in the NBA. So, when I say that, if you’re willing to take an extra $800,000 to go (into the portal), and you’re telling me you wan to be a pro, have at it.

“I don’t begrudge anybody. DeMarcus Cousins told me back in the day, he said, ‘What should I do? Should I put my name in the draft?’ I said, ‘If you wanna do what’s right for you and your family, you put your name in that draft. If you wanna do what’s right for me and my family? Why don’t you stay here?”And so this thing, I just wish they could not transfer.” 

Calipari explained that he agrees it’s important for players to be able transfer at least once or twice. He cited coaches lying to players with tantalizing promises of playing time, role and usage to land a commitment, without any plans to actually follow through on those promises. 

In those cases, Calipari is completely fine with players having the ability to move on. However, when players are jumping to a different team every year, that’s when he believes it starts to cross a line. Both Calipari and McAfee agreed it tends to set a bad precedent and example for players. 

“I understand once or twice without penalty, but after that, don’t tell me, ‘Well, we’d get sued.’ A kid transferred four times,” Calipari said. “One, it’s not good for him. Two, he has no chance academically to do anything, and I think we’re still academic institutions. Take it to court. You can win that. But if we get that in order, I think the NIL stuff would be fine.”

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